Duncan crockett



Sept. 30'. 1924.

1,510,137 D. CROCKETT FRICTION GRIP SUSPENDER Filed Dec. 26, 1923 DUNCANCROCKETT, 'NVENTOR Attorney.

Patented Sept. 30, 1924.

UNITED STATES 1,510,137 PATENT OFFICE.

DUNCAN GROCKETT, OF MANSFIELD, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA.

' FRIGTION GRIP SUSPENDER.

7 Application filed December 26, 1923. Serial No. 682,795.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DUNCAN GRooKn'rr, a subject of the King of GreatBritain and lreland, residing at Verna, Mansfield, in the State ofVictoria, Commonwealth of Australia, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Friction-Grip Suspenders; and I dohereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact descripion of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use thesame.

My suspenders or holders for towels, cur-v tains, clothing, and otherarticles, have forks and fork bridging frictional gravity grippers. Theforks are for location therein of parts of suspended articles above thegrip ping surfaces, and the grippers are located where a user can seethem. These suspenders are made with or Without extra hooks or eyes, andwill be used singly, in pairs or. in other sets, allowing towels,sheets, and so on to be suspended while spread out and without makingholes in them. My suspenders can be used in wardrobes, and can befixedly or slidably applied to lines or rods.

The grippers will be used with or without rollers, articles beinggripped with or Without indenting them, as predetermined. For fixing thesuspenders they have ends which are screw threaded, or which carryhooks, eyes, or the like. My suspenders are wholly or mainly of metal,(wire or metal rod) and can be suitably coated or sheathed to make theminsulators of electricity, or for other purposes.

The pivoted gripper can be a link or ring, having considerable surfaceto hold an article by frictional pressure, the gripper locating itselfin gripping position automatically by gravity. Springiness of thegripper or one or both limbs of the fork is provided in some cases tostrengthen the grip.

The application of gravity and of friction for suspending articles isold, but my metal suspender is not only complete in itself, simple,strong, cheap, and easy to install and to remove, it has various otheradvantages consequent on its novel construction.

Some embodiments of my invention are illustrated in the drawingsherewith, but in practice there will be variations within the scope ofmy claims.

Figure 1 shows one form of my forked suspender.

Figure 2 is a side view of a suspender, the

pivot of the gripper of which is not located as in Figure 1.

Figure 8 is a plan in section on line AA of Figure 7.

Figure -l shows a gripper carrying a cushioning member.

Figures 5 and 6 show elevations, at right angles to one another, of asuspender having grippers and hooks, but the latter are omittable.

Figure 7 is a side view of a bent wire suspender having a roller on itsgripper, and having a hook.

Figures 8 and 9 are practical modifications of my invention.

Any fork limb will be straight, curved, or bent, as predetermined, andbe fixed extending in a vertical, horizontal, or other suitabledirection.

Some articles persistently slip off hooks, and for that reason it isbest to grip them; but by using the same suspender for both grippers andhooks each means of suspension will be utilized according to itssuitability, economizing in cost and in space.

In these drawings the fork limb or stem at represents wire, and a metalrod, the stem in Figure 7 having a hook I); the stem in Fig ures 5 and 6having two hooks b, 0; the suspender of Figures 1, 8 and 9, being atwill providable with a hook or hooks.

The suspender end for locating purposes is screw threaded, at a*, hookedat a or likewise suitably shaped.

In Figures 8 and 9, the end a is located at an angle to the fork insteadof in a straight line with one limb of the latter. a represents a wallor member to which a screw threaded end a is fixed; when the screwthreaded end is located as shown in Figures 8 and 9, it will screw intowardrobe ceilings, under surfaces of shelves, and so on, and the forkcan be close to the latter to save space. lVhen a hook a is used, thesuspender can be hung on a nail or other support.

The suspender has, besides stem at or a an arm d or d or a pluralitythereof as in Figures 5 and 6 forming one or more forks, of any suitablesize and shape. I provide, obliquely located, a pivoted gripper e,having gravity frictional action, which bridges each fork, producing anaccessible space 7 in which part of the gripped article, as the upperedge of a towel, will be located. In Figures 1 and 2 a free end a of alimb of. the fork extends well away from gripper e to allow of easyinsertion (as per arrow in Figure 2) of the article to be suspended.Such an article is represented by h in Figure 1, and it is gripped at ilThe article top can be grasped by hand, and raised as per the arrow torelease the article, as this act-ion will lift the gripper. But tofacilitate raising the gripper to release an object without raising thatobject, or for any other purpose, I show a tail lug or pro jection e onthe gripper in Figures 3 and 7, depression of the tail effecting thesaid rais ing.

The pivoted iart e of the gripper engages an eye (Z on a fork limb, thegripper then by the shape and position of the fork being unable toremain standingin raised position. Thus at its free end 6 0 or e thegripper swings against a fork limb, or near enough to grip the articleto be suspended. l Vith a long gripper its free end cannot fallout ofthe fork. When part of an article is inserted in the fork, and thegripper drops then if the article is drawn or allowed to fall a shortdistance downward, its movement causes the grip to tighten as desired.This is a normal downward tendency of the gripper free end till it candescend no farther.

. Grippers of link formare illustrated having broad free ends which maycarry a cushion as a roller 9 or of resilient or anysuitablematerial,frictionai pressure on the article gripped being variable. The gripperfree end 0 is extended lengthwise of fork limb a to secure a largegripping surface. The free end a in Figure 6 is shown recessed, also toincrease the gripping surface. Similarly the exterior of the mam-- her5/ isniade cylindrical, convex, concave, fluted, corrugated, smooth,pitted, nippled, or of other suitable detail.

I claim 1. A supporting device of the character described, comprising astem provided with a screw shank, an angular projection so cured to saidstem and having its free end provided with an eye and projecting beyondthe "free end of said stem, and a gripping member pivoted in said eyeand comprising a substantially continuous loop, one portion thereoitbeing disposed transversely of the free end of the said stein andadapted to swing about the pivot'towards the said stem to grip materialarranged therebe tween.

2. A supporting devi'cc,as claimed in claim 1, in which said stem andangular projection comprise wires bent to form parallel strands, and thetransverse portion of: said gripping member is provided with a roller tocontact with the interposed material being supported.

3. A sup 'iorting device as claimed in claim 1, including a rollerhaving an un even surface and being loosely mounted on the transverselydisposed portion of said gripping member.

In witness whereof I have hcirnnlro set my hand.

DUNCAN CROCKETT. lVitness Gnonen G. TURRI.

